


The One

by LucreziaJames



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Drama, F/M, Infidelity, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-22
Updated: 2017-01-22
Packaged: 2018-09-19 05:29:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9420689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LucreziaJames/pseuds/LucreziaJames
Summary: After finding her boyfriend, Ron Weasley in bed with their friend Susan Bones, Hermione Granger turns to her partner in the MLE, Draco Malfoy.  After realising that her relationship with Ron had been over some time before his indiscretions came to light, she has an epiphany: She is falling for Draco.  Little does she know, he has come to a similar conclusion: that he is falling for her.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by Anonymous in the [SecretAdmirerFicExchange](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/SecretAdmirerFicExchange) collection. 



> **Prompt:**
> 
> That special moment when you realise that the person standing in front of you is the ONE. Her smile that she gives you everyday is special for you today. Because you finally found how much she means to you. Your Ms. Right.

That special moment, when you realise that the person standing in front of you is ‘The One.’  Her smile, that she gives you everyday is special for you today, because you finally found how much she means to you.  Your Ms. Right.  

 

That’s the unexpected realisation that hit Draco Malfoy like a bludger flying at 100mph as he looked up from his files to see his partner coming through the door to their office.  A soft smile graced her lips, her chestnut curls framing her face, rosy from the crisp winter air, two coffee cups balanced in the cardboard carrier in her left hand.  

 

It was such an ordinary moment; pedestrian in its simplicity.  Not the soaring fireworks and beautiful symphonies he thought he was supposed to expect with such a realisation.  Just the same gentle smile she graced him with every morning when she arrived at work.

 

So why was he suddenly so affected by it?

 

“Morning, Malfoy,” she greeted, pulling one of the cups from the holder and handing it to him as she moved to her desk, opening the paper bag that was sitting on her dark green blotter.  She couldn’t now remember how their morning ritual had started, but every morning she would arrive at 8:58am with two steaming paper cups of coffee - flat white, no sugar for her; black americano, two sugars for Malfoy - from the cart outside the Ministry, meanwhile he would be waiting at the office with two pastries from the patisserie in Diagon Alley that she loved so much. 

 

“Morning, Granger,” he returned, trying to ignore the way his body reacted to the little moan that hummed from the back of Hermione’s throat as she bit into the pastry, enjoying the way the flakes melted as the taste exploded in her mouth.

 

Shaking his head, he tried to push the images that flooded his mind away, tossing the letters that arrived that morning onto her desk.  “These are for you.”

 

Hermione opened her eyes, grabbing a napkin from next to the paper bag, sighing as she wiped her fingers clean.  Hearing the sound, Draco glanced up from the file he was reading.

“Everything okay?” he asked, concern in his voice.

Hermione met his eyes as she tore open the first letter, sharing a knowing look.  They were not just partners, but best friends and despite the long standing animosity between her partner and her boyfriend, she had taken to confiding in him more and more.

 

“That bad?” he asked, referring to the fallout of the argument that had resulted in her apparating to his flat last Friday.

“Isn’t it always?” she scoffed as her gaze dropped to the letter, quickly scanning the words.

“Ginny,” she explained, gesturing to the letter.  “Ron spent the weekend at The Burrow.”

“I see,” Draco answered, his eyes narrowing as he tried to identify the feeling that rose in his chest at her words.  Jealousy? Was that it?

 

Huffing, Hermione shoved the letter in the top draw of her desk, resolving to ignore it.  She wasn’t entirely sure she cared any longer whether Ron came home at all.

 

* * *

 

The week passed uneventfully, no real breaks in their case.  Ron returned Monday evening but the two co-existed in silence, the cracks in their relationship ever widening until they were standing on opposite sides of the vast gulf between them.

 

Friday evening, Hermione floo’d home from The Leaky at 7.30.  As was usual for the last Friday in the month, she had gone to the pub for an early dinner after work with Draco.  

 

Stepping out of the flames, she noted that something felt different.  Glancing around the lounge, her eyebrows knitting together with curiosity, she tried to discern what was off.  Nothing was out of place, everything was as it was that morning when she left for work.  

 

Crossing the room, she turned into the hall, stumbling over a jacket that wasn’t hers.  Bending to pick it up, nausea washed over her as she realised she recognised the jacket.   Suddenly her world shifted under her feet, spiralling out of control as everything she thought she knew changed.  Lifting the jacket up, she hung it on the coat rack as though it were the most natural thing to do in such a situation.  

 

Her trembling hand gripped the banister as she slowly climbed the stairs, waves of nausea washing over her as the images she knew she was about to see flooded through her mind.  Pushing open her bedroom door gently, her insides knotted tightly as her eyes fell on Ron in bed with Susan Bones.  

 

Hearing her gasp, Ron’s head snapped round with such force that Hermione absently wondered if he had hurt himself.  Susan followed his action, screaming as her eyes locked with Hermione’s, clutching her hands to her bare breasts in a vain attempt to preserve any sense of her dignity.  Vaguely, Hermione wondered if she was the one who ought to be screaming, after all; Susan was in bed with Hermione’s boyfriend, right in the throws of their lovemaking.

 

Moments later, unaware of how she had got there, she found herself in Draco’s lounge, collapsing into his arms as he rushed from the couch, her body wracked with sobs.

 

* * *

 

Monday morning came and Draco was surprised to find Hermione sitting at his kitchen table, coffee cup in hand, newspaper laid out in front of her, and work robes on.

 

He ran a hand through his messy bed hair as he opened the fridge, retrieving the milk.  “You don’t have to do this, you know,” he told her quietly, not looking at her as he poured coffee into his favourite mug.

“Do what?” Hermione asked, her eyes scanning the newspaper for anything noteworthy.

Draco sighed.  “Put on a brave face, pretend like you didn’t spend the weekend crying yourself to sleep in my spare bedroom,” he clarified, slipping into the chair opposite her, nodding to her robes.  “Go to work.”

“I’m fine,” Hermione told him, turning over the page, refusing to meet his look as he watched her over the rim of her coffee cup.

“Are you really?” Draco asked, not entirely sure he believed her, however insistent she made her voice sound.

 

Hermione looked up, meeting his eyes.  “Yes, I am.  And it’s not a front.  I had an epiphany when I woke up this morning,” she began.

“And what time was that?” Draco asked her pointedly.

“Five a.m, but that isn’t the point,” Hermione shook her head.  “Well, actually, it sort of is.  I’ve been awake since five thinking about this, and I suddenly realised my relationship with Ron has been over for a long time.  Everyone could see it, hell even you tried to make me see it,” she gestured with her hand as she reached for her coffee cup.  

 

Draco narrowed his eyes at her as she continued.  “I’m not devastated.  If anything I am relieved.”  At her words Draco raised an eyebrow at her.

“He has given me the impetus to finally see I am worth more.  So much more,” she told him, the sincerity in her voice resonating with him.  Finishing his coffee, he rose from the table to get ready for work.  Stopping next to her, he dropped a kiss to her hair, his arm coming around her protectively.

“Just so long as you are happy, Hermione,” he whispered before pulling away and disappearing from the room, leaving Hermione shocked.

 

* * *

 

That special moment when you realise that the person standing in front of you is ‘The One’. His smile, that he gives you everyday is special for you today, because you finally found how much he means to you. Your Mr. Right.

 

The realisation hit Hermione like a massive tome falling from the top shelf in the library and landing on her head as she walked into the office she shared with her best friend and partner, Draco Malfoy.  

 

That morning as he wrapped his arm protectively around her, dropping a kiss to her hair, she breathed in the scent of him- all expensive cologne, apples and something that was just uniquely Draco- she felt something ignite in her lower abdomen.  The realisation shocked her, causing her to question everything she thought she knew for the second time in less than a week.  She was Hermione Granger, she chastised herself, she should have all the answers, not feel like this, and certainly not because of a man.  Not twice anyway.

 

Nervousness overwhelmed her, and she found herself quickly scribbling a note about coffee and rituals before flooing just to get the hell out of there as quickly as possible in the hope of finding somewhere quiet to calm herself down before she arrived at work.

 

She pushed the feeling to the farthest reaches of her mind as she strode purposely into their office, coffee cups in hand, spotting the pastry waiting on her desk.  He looked up from his file, a soft, gentle smile on his lips.  For the first time, she realised how handsome he looked when he exchanged his trademark smirk for a genuine smile.

 

How could she have missed what was staring her in the face for so long?

 

Feeling the blush creep up her cheeks, she smiled, handing him his coffee before moving to her desk, avoiding eye contact.  The realisation was overwhelming in its simplicity as she struggled to bury the feelings deep down to focus on her work.

 

For two and a half weeks she tried to ignore the way her heart leapt when he smiled at her, the way her skin tingled when they accidently brushed against one another, the way his voice melted everything in her- and the fact that she had yet to go home.

 

Stepping out of the floo, she was momentarily confused by all the red.  Decorations adorned the Ministry atrium, Hermione’s eyebrows knitting together as she tried to ascertain why.  

 

Hermione groaned inwardly as it clicked: it was Valentine’s Day.

 

Struggling to concentrate, she massaged her forehead as Draco droned on about the lack of progress in their case.

“Hermione?”

She looked up, humming.

“I asked if you were alright: you look a little pale and I’m sure you have not been listening to me for the last ten minutes,” Draco explained, reaching out to press the back of his left hand to her forehead.  Hermione jumped a little at the contact, causing Draco to frown.

“I was just checking whether you have a temperature,” he explained, a little offended by her reaction.  She had been skittish all week and he had no idea why.  Although he wasn’t exactly a demonstrative person, they had grown accustomed to a certain level of intimacy and now she seemed to be pulling back.   Why, he did not know.

 

“I’m fine, I just have a migraine,” she murmured, searching her handbag for a pain relief potion.

“Well, why don’t you go home, have some rest?” he suggested, his face awash with concern.

Hermione thought for a moment, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth.  “I think I might just do that, actually.  If it’s okay with you?” she chanced a glance in his direction.

“I wouldn’t suggest it if I wasn’t okay with it,” he told her, furrowing his brows as he watched her gather her things.

“Are you sure you are okay?” he asked.

Hermione nodded, her eyes locking with his.  Something about the way he was looking at her made her nervous.  Finally he broke the eye contact and returned to his file as Hermione left.

 

* * *

 

Stepping out of the floo, Draco loosened his tie, chucking his briefcase on the coffee table.  Thinking Hermione was probably asleep, he headed straight for the fridge, pulling a bottle of beer out.  Twisting off the cap, he closed the fridge door, pressing his forehead to the cool surface, running the day over in his mind again, trying to figure out if the reason for her strange behaviour was because he had been an arse.

 

Standing straight, he opened his eyes, startled by the sudden appearance of Hermione standing in her bath robe, her hair in a towel.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you,” she blushed as he swore.

“I thought you would be asleep,” he explained, averting his eyes, aware of the way his cock twitched at the sight of her.

 

Hermione shook her head.  “I thought a bath might help.  I must have lost track of the time,” she apologised as Draco took a pull from his beer.

“It’s okay, I want you to feel comfortable here,” he reassured her.  “And on that note, I am sorry about today.”

 

Hermione frowned.  “What do you mean?”

“I should have realised you would be tense today, of all days,” he explained, confusion flooding him as Hermione started to laugh.  

“You think I am upset about Ron?”

Draco shrugging.  “Well, yeah.”

Hermione shook her head.  “No, I meant what I said the other day.”

 

Draco’s frown deepened.  “So what was that about earlier, when I tried to see if you were okay?” 

Hermione heard the hurt in his voice, suddenly shamed by her reaction.  Her cheeks flushed.  “I, um, might, um, sort of…”

Draco cut her off impatiently.  “Spit it out, Granger.” He lifted his beer to his lips, taking a pull.

Hermione sighed heavily, averting her eyes as her flush deepened.  “I realised I sort of... I have feelings for you,” she blurted out suddenly, causing Draco to choke.

“I’m sorry, but what?” he asked, setting his beer down.

 

Hermione’s eyes darted about the room, looking anywhere but at Draco.  “Don’t make me say it again,” she whined as Draco stepped towards her.  For a moment he thought she would dart from the room as she oscillated on the spot in front of him.  He smiled as he reached out, pulling her into his arms.  Tilting his head, he whispered in her ear.  “I realised I sort of have feelings for you too.”

 

Hermione pulled back slightly, staring up into his eyes, searching for clarification.  He gently nodded as her eyes widened at the revelation, his left hand finding it’s way to the towel, pulling it from her hair as he curls cascaded around her shoulders.  Slowly, painfully slow, he lowered his lips to hers as his hand slid into her damp curls.  Groaning slightly, he ran his tongue across the seam of her lips, begging for entrance.  She parted her mouth as she melted into him, sighing into the kiss.  Everything she had been missing, without even realising, was poured into that one kiss.  He was her one, and she was his.

  
  



End file.
